The adidas Predator Megaride hits the sneaker zeitgeist so directly on the nose that my natural reaction was to assume it’s a brand-new concoction designed to feed current trends.

After all, football boots turned sneakers of this ilk are increasingly becoming the norm. Nike has its Tiempo turned Air Max, Reebok’s combined football boots with bouldering shoes, and then there’s a booming market of customizers making hybrid dress shoes of vintage boots... the adidas Predator Megaride slots right in with these recent footwear developments.

But this is no such last-minute pounce onto a trend, it’s a re-introduction of an adidas deep cut.

Since the adidas Predator Absolute was released in 2006, all anyone can remember is David Beckham wearing the shiny new boots at the World Cup (and who can blame them? I also haven’t stopped thinking about that free kick against Ecuador), which meant the accompanying ACUB Predator Absolute flew relatively under the radar. 

Combining the most cutting-edge of adidas’ sneakers at the time, its chunky Megaride model, with its most premium football boot was a conction of the three stripes finest technology. In 2025, its resurgence feels less cutting-edge, more retrofuturistic. 

The adidas Predator Megaride, teased since late last year, is arriving in three colorways inspired by the OG Predator Absolutes on April 7. 

While the big bouncy sole of this sneaker means it's no longer going to help you bend a free kick like Beckham, it does make this a comfy everyday shoe ingrained with footballing heritage.